Arizona lawmakers have introduced a bill that would protect members of the LGBT community from employment discrimination for the first time in the state.
It’s the same legislation that has failed to pass several times during recent legislative sessions.
However, with same-sex marriage now legal in Arizona, lawmakers are hoping attitudes at the state capitol will be different this time around.
“Marriage equality happened through the courts, but we haven’t really seen equality, full equality, for people in that community yet and I think that part of that is making sure that nobody can be fired on the basis of gender expression or gender identity,” said Representative Stefanie Mach, D-Tucson, the primary sponsor who introduced the bill on Thursday along with five other sponsoring representatives and three senators.
Under federal law, it’s illegal for an employer to discriminate against an individual, through acts such as hiring and firing, based on race, religion, disability, sex and so on.
Those federal protections do not extend to the LGBT community, but roughly 20 states have passed legislation that do.
Arizona is not one of them, but Mach’s House Bill 2188 could change that by protecting individuals from employment discrimination based on gender, gender identity or expression and sexual orientation.
State lawmakers have tried passing this same legislation for at least the past three years.
But what makes this legislative session different is the fact that same-sex marriage is legal in Arizona, 35 other states and the District of Columbia.
Of course, that doesn’t address workplace discrimination directly, but it shows popular opinion and public policy surrounding gay rights issues in America has been quickly changing, especially this past year.
In Arizona, however, the gay rights movement will likely face another year of uphill battles from some conservative and religious groups.
“It’s unnecessary regulation for businesses, there’s not a shown need,” said Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, the same Christian organization that strongly supported last year’s controversial religious freedom bill, Senate Bill 1062, which was ultimately vetoed by then-Governor Jan Brewer.
“You are not hearing that people are being discriminated against in this state in employment," Herrod said. "It’s just not happening.”
She noted that the same-sex marriage debate is not over now that, as of Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to make a ruling by June.
In the meantime, Herrod said she’ll fight Mach’s bill.
She also plans to oppose a similar bill, HB 2189, also sponsored by Mach, that would give the LGBT community similar protections from housing discrimination.
